Research Associated with the Development of EPA Method 552.2

Abstract

The work presented in this paper entails the development of a method for haloacetic acid (HAA) analysis, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) method 552.2, that improves the safety and efficiency of previous methods and incorporates three additional trihalogenated acetic acids: bromodichloroacetic acid, chlorodibromoacetic acid, and tribromoacetic acid, which are not included in the previous two methods, standard method 6251B and EPA method 552.1. The final procedure includes a microextraction coupled with derivatization by acidic methanol. All nine possible brominated and chlorinated HAAs are detectable at concentrations of less than 1 μg/L. The objective of this paper is to describe the various approaches that were explored, the conclusions that were drawn from the associated studies, and the reasoning behind the changes that were incorporated into EPA method 552.2.